Hamilton May Be Hitting Movie Theaters Rather Soon

4 months ago

The cultural phenomenon Hamilton has taken the world by storm, becoming one of the most successful on stage performances of the century. Now, it seems as though Hamilton may be on track to hitting movie theaters in 2020, as apparently the film rights are currently up for bidding.

Hamilton took a number of leaps that most other Broadway musicals did not, featuring mostly rap-like musical numbers throughout the duration of the show. It created a unique retelling of the story of Alexander Hamilton, making millions of people around the world interested in the historical figure that most people never thought twice of before. Hamilton is estimated to be earning over $100 million per year, which is huge for a Broadway show. Its massive earnings come not only from its box office sales, but also from its soundtrack. Based on how huge Hamilton is on stage, it is sure to bring even more money should it make its way to the silver screen.

Currently, it looks as though the movie rights to Hamilton are up for grabs for somewhere around $50 million. While that number is huge, the buyers will surely make their money back simply due to the popularity of the musical. Hamilton is one of those musicals that many people want to see more than once, but Broadway tickets are expensive so it’s typically not in anyone’s best interest to spend $100+ just to see it again. Instead, millions of people will surely want to spend $20 on a DVD so they can watch the hit musical whenever they want.

The unique thing about the movie rights to Hamilton is that they aren’t selling rights to make an adaptation. Instead, it’s for the rights to a high quality recording of Hamilton that they have already produced. This will help to keep Hamilton authentic on screen, as it will include the original cast and set, with Lin-Manuel Miranda still taking the lead as Alexander Hamilton, with a performance captured in 2016. While this may be disappointing to fans of Hamilton who wanted to see a movie adaptation, it may be for the best as Hamilton was written for the stage, and it may not work as well if it were to be shot like a movie.

Hamilton certainly isn’t the first Broadway musical to shoot the performance on stage and sell it for money, but it could be the first to make a monstrous amount of money off of it simply due to how successful the show has been in recent years. Unfortunately, the sellers do not want the recording to release in theaters, on DVD, or on streaming until at least 2020 so that the Broadway show will be able to be the only way to see Hamilton for at least a couple more years.

This report from The Wall Street Journal is huge news for fans of Hamilton who can’t get enough of the Broadway show or the hip music. Though it will still be a couple years before fans get the chance to see this recording of Hamilton on screen, it’s still certainly exciting and could pave the way to an actual movie adaptation at some point down the road.